Paper storage apparatus

ABSTRACT

Paper storage apparatus is provided with friction members that are provided at opposing sides ( 7   c ) of a lifting table ( 7 ) facing a pair of guide rails ( 3, 4 ) such that the friction members ( 30, 31 ) project toward the guide rails ( 3, 4 ). When a paper ( 10 ) is moved by the lifting table ( 7 ) so that end portions of the paper ( 10 ) escape from the grooves ( 3   a,    4   a ), the paper ( 10 ) slides while being in contact with the friction members ( 30, 31 ), thereby to prevent the paper ( 10 ) from being moved on the lifting table ( 7 ).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a paper storage apparatus forloading and storing a large number of sheets of paper such as papermoney, bond certificates and corporation securities.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] In a conventional paper money processing apparatus thatdetermines whether a paper money is genuine or false and stores onlygenuine paper money, a paper storage apparatus is generally provided forloading and storing genuine paper money.

[0005] In this conventional paper money processing apparatus, a papermoney inserted into a paper money inserting slot is conveyed along apaper money conveyance path. During the conveyance, the paper money isdetermined as genuine or false by a paper money determination unit.

[0006] When the inserted paper money is determined as a false one, thepaper money is returned to the paper money inserting slot. When theinserted paper money is determined as a genuine one, then the papermoney is further conveyed to the downstream of the paper moneyconveyance path and is loaded and stored in a stacker, that is, thepaper storage apparatus.

[0007]FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the main part of aconventional paper storage apparatus 1.

[0008] The conventional paper storage apparatus 1 comprises a stacker 2for loading and storing, in a vertical direction of the drawing, a largenumber of sheets of paper 10 (e.g., paper money) that have been insertedthrough the paper money inserting slot (not shown) and determined asgenuine ones; guide rails 3 and 4 formed with a pair of guide grooves 3a and 4 a of a C-shaped cross section and disposed at the periphery ofan opening portion 2 a of the stacker 2, for guiding an inserted papermoney 10 to the opening portion 2 a; a stacker plate 6 thatpressure-contacts with the upper faces 3 b and 4 b of the pair of guiderails 3 and 4; and a lifting table 7 for pushing the paper money 10 intothe stacker 2 after the paper money 10 is conveyed with the opposing endportions thereof being inserted into the guide grooves 3 a and 4 a ofthe pair of guide rails 3 and 4.

[0009] The lifting table 7 is lifted toward the stacker 2 at apredetermined timing by a known elevator means (not shown) having apantograph-shaped link mechanism provided at the lower face of thelifting table 7.

[0010] The opposing end portions of the paper money 10 that are insertedinto the guide grooves 3 a and 4 a of the pair of guide rails 3 and 4 bya paper money conveyance means (not shown) escape from the guide grooves3 a and 4 a as the lifting table 7 is lifted by the elevator means.Then, the paper money 10 is loaded and stored in the stacker 2 while theend portions thereof are fastened between a stacker plate 6 and upperfaces 3 b and 4 b of the guide rails 3 and 4.

[0011] Referring to FIG. 10, in the conventional paper storage apparatus1, when the lifting table 7 is moved upward as shown by the arrow, thepaper money 10 whose opposing end portions are inserted into the guidegrooves 3 a and 4 a of the pair of guide rails 3 and 4 are pushedupward. During this operation, the end portions 10 a and 10 b of thepaper money 10 slide against a friction between side edges 7 a and 7 bof the lifting table 7 and upper edges 3 c and 4 c of the openingportion of the pair of guide grooves 3 a and 4 a.

[0012] In this situation, it may occur that one of the end portions 10 aand 10 b of the paper money 10 have a friction coefficient that islarger than that of the other end portion thereof due to the conditionsof the end portions 10 a and 10 b such as the presence of dirt orwrinkle.

[0013] If the end portion 10 b of the paper money 10 has a frictioncoefficient larger than that of the end portion 10 a, only the endportion 10 a of the paper money 10 is moved above the upper edge 3 b ofthe guide rail 3 as shown in FIG. 11 while the other end portion 10 b isstopped by the upper edge 4 c of the opening portion of the guide groove4 a and therefore remains in the guide groove 4 a.

[0014] In this case, when the lifting table 7 is returned to the initialposition by the elevator means, the end portion 10 b of the paper money10 remains in the guide groove 4 a of the guide rail 4 as shown in FIG.12. This causes a serious problem. Namely, when a subsequently-insertedpaper money is guided into the guide grooves 3 a and 4 a of the pair ofguide rails 3 and 4, this paper money will collide against the endportion 10 b of the previously-inserted paper money 10 having remainedin the guide groove 4 a of the guide rail 4, which may cause a paper jamin the guide rails 3 and 4. As a result, the paper money processingapparatus becomes inoperative.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0015] It is an object of the present invention to provide a paperstorage apparatus that can load and store sheets of paper one afteranother in a stable manner.

[0016] In order to achieve the above object, the paper storage apparatusof the present invention that comprises a pair of guide rails arrangedwith a predetermined space therebetween and formed with guide groovesthat guide opposing end portions of a paper; a lifting table that movesinto and out from the space between the pair of guide rails; and astacker -for storing the paper, wherein the paper guided into the guidegrooves of the pair of guide rails is loaded and stored in the stackerby escaping the paper from the pair of guide grooves by the liftingtable, is characterized in that the paper storage apparatus furthercomprises friction means disposed at opposing sides of the lifting tablefacing the pair of guide rails in such a manner as to project toward theguide rails, wherein, when the paper escapes from the grooves by anaction of the lifting table, the paper slides while being in contactwith the friction means, thereby to prevent the paper from being movedon the lifting table.

[0017] This and other objects and advantageous effects of the presentinvention will be easily confirmed by the following detailed descriptionand accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] In the accompanying drawings,

[0019]FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the main part of thepaper storage apparatus according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

[0020]FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken at the line A-A of FIG. 1;

[0021]FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken at the line B-B of FIG. 2;

[0022]FIG. 4 shows the fracture cross-section of the main partillustrating the operation of the paper storage apparatus according tothis embodiment;

[0023]FIG. 5 shows the fracture cross-section of the main partillustrating the operation of the paper storage apparatus according tothis embodiment;

[0024]FIG. 6 shows the fracture cross-section of the main partillustrating the operation of the paper storage apparatus according tothis embodiment;

[0025]FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken at the line A-A of FIG. 1illustrating another embodiment of the paper storage apparatus accordingto the present invention;

[0026]FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken at the line A-A of FIG. 1illustrating another embodiment of the paper storage apparatus accordingto the present invention;

[0027]FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the main part of aconventional paper storage apparatus;

[0028]FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the main part illustratingthe operation of the conventional paper storage apparatus;

[0029]FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the main part illustratingthe operation of the conventional paper storage apparatus; and

[0030]FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the main part illustratingthe operation of the conventional paper storage apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0031] Embodiments of the paper storage apparatus according to thepresent invention will be described in detail.

[0032]FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the main part illustrating apaper storage apparatus 20 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. In FIG. 1, the same components as those of FIG. 9 are shownby the same reference numerals.

[0033] The paper storage apparatus 20 has a pair of friction means 30and 31 of the same structure that are disposed at opposing sides of thelifting table 7 so that they are positioned to be faced with the guiderails 3 and 4, respectively.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 2 illustrating the cross section taken at theline A-A of FIG. 1, the friction means 30 and 31 are disposed atopposing sides 7c of the lifting table 7, respectively.

[0035] To describe these friction means 30 and 31, the friction means 31will be described below.

[0036] Referring to FIG. 3 that illustrates an expanded cross sectiontaken at the line B-B of FIG. 2, the friction means 31 includes atongue-shaped elastic member 33 made of an elastic rubber that isengaged with a projection 7 b provided at the lower face 7 a of thelifting table 7. As shown in FIG. 2, the tip end 33 a of the elasticmember 33 is of arc shape, and is disposed so as to slightly projecttoward the guide rail 4 (or 3) from the side 7 c of the lifting table 7.

[0037] On the upper face 7 d of the lifting table where the frictionmeans 30 and 31 are disposed, a projection 7 e is formed integrally withthe upper face 7 d. The projection 7 e serves to prevent the paper money10 from contacting with the elastic member 33 of the friction means 30and 31, thereby preventing a paper jam when a sheet of paper (e.g.,inserted paper money 10) is guided into the pair of guide grooves 3 aand 4 a.

[0038] In FIG. 3, the reference numeral 7 f denotes a rib for supportingthe lower face of the elastic member 33 and the reference numeral 7 gdenotes a notch.

[0039] Next, the operations of the paper storage apparatus 20 will bedescribed, and at the same time the structure thereof will be describedin detail. Since the friction means 30 and the friction means 31 performthe same operations, the operation of the friction means 31 will bedescribed and description regarding the operations of the friction means30 is omitted.

[0040] In FIG. 4, the same components as those of FIG. 3 are denotedwith the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 4, as the liftingtable 7 is upwardly moved as shown by the arrow, the paper money 10guided into the guide grooves 3 a and 4 a of the pair of guide rails 3and 4 are lifted.

[0041] During this operation, the end portion 10 a (10 b) of the papermoney 10 is curved and the lower face thereof slides while being incontact with the tip end 33 a of the tongue-shaped elastic member 33constituting the friction means 31 (30). At the same time, the tip end33 a of the elastic member 33 is curved, thus increasing the contactarea therebetween.

[0042] When the tip end 33 a of the tongue-shaped elastic member 33constituting the friction means 31 is curved, the area of the tip end 33a with which the end portion 10 a of the paper money 10 contacts isincreased, thereby to increase a frictional force between the tip end 33a of the elastic member 33 and the end portion 10 a of the paper money10. As a result, this frictional force generated by the contact betweenthe tip end 33 a of the elastic member 33 and the end portion 10 a ofthe paper money 10 becomes extremely larger compared with a frictionalforce generated by the contact between the paper money 10 and the upperedge 4 c of the opening portion of the guide groove 4 a.

[0043] Thus, the paper money 10 mounted on the lifting table 7 is liftedin a stable manner without being pulled by the frictional forcegenerated by the contact between the guide groove 4 a and the upper edge4 c of the opening portion, and eventually, as shown in FIG. 5, the endportions 10 a and 10 b of the paper money 10 are moved above the upperfaces 3 b and 4 b of the pair of guide rails 3 and 4.

[0044] Referring to FIG. 6, when the lifting table 7 is returned to theinitial position via the elevator means (not shown), the paper money 10can be stored in the stacker 2 while the opposing end portions thereofare fastened between the upper faces 3 b and 4 b of the pair of guiderails 3 and 4, and the stacker plate 6.

[0045] With the above operations, a subsequently-inserted paper moneycan be smoothly guided into the guide grooves 3 a and 4 a of the pair ofguide rails 3 and 4 without generating a jam caused by a collision withthe previously-inserted paper money 10.

[0046] Thereafter, the subsequently-inserted paper money is stored inthe stacker 2 while the opposing end portions thereof are fastenedbetween the upper faces 3 b and 4 b of the pair of guide rails 3 and 4,and the previously-inserted paper money 10 positioned on the lower faceof the stacker plate 6 in the stacker 2 by the same operations of thelifting table 7 as described above. Thus, papers subsequently-insertedcan be stored in the stacker 2 in a stable manner.

[0047] Although the above embodiment as shown in FIG. 2 is provided withthe friction means 30 and 31 at the end portions of the lifting table 7,the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the aboveembodiment. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 7 in which the samecomponents as those of FIG. 2 are denoted with the same referencenumerals, the friction means 30 and 31 may be provided at a plurality ofpositions at opposing sides 7 c of the lifting table 7, respectively.

[0048] Further, the present invention is not limited to the aboveconfigurations in which the friction means 30 and 31 are provided at oneposition or a plurality of positions at opposing sides 7 c of thelifting table 7. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 8 in which the samecomponents as those of FIG. 2 are denoted with the same referencenumerals, friction means 31 (30) made of a long tongue-shaped elasticmember 33 may be provided along opposing sides 7 c of the lifting table7.

[0049] As described above, the paper storage apparatus according to thepresent invention includes the friction means that are provided atopposing sides of the lifting table facing the pair of guide rails andthat are projected toward the guide rails, respectively. With thefriction means, when a paper is lifted by the lifting table so that theend portions of the paper escape from the grooves of the guide rails,the paper slides while being in contact with the friction means so thatthe paper is prevented from being moved on the lifting table. As aresult, the end portions of the inserted paper money can escape from theguide grooves of the guide rails in a stable manner. This prevents apaper jam caused by a collision between a previously-inserted papermoney and a subsequently-inserted paper money in the guide rails. Inthis way, the present invention provides a paper storage apparatus thatcan load and store each paper in a stable manner.

What is claimed is:
 1. An paper storage apparatus for storing sheets ofpaper, comprising: a pair of guide rails arranged with a predeterminedspace therebetween and formed with guide grooves that guide opposing endportions of a paper; a lifting table that moves into and out from thespace between the pair of guide rails; and a stacker for storing thepaper, wherein the paper guided into the guide grooves of the pair ofguide rails is loaded and stored in the stacker by escaping the paperfrom the pair of guide grooves by the lifting table, characterized inthat the paper storage apparatus further comprises friction meansrespectively disposed at opposing sides of the lifting table facing thepair of guide rails in such a manner as to project toward the guiderails, wherein, when the paper escapes from the grooves by an action ofthe lifting table, the paper slides while being in contact with thefriction means, thereby to prevent the paper from being moved on thelifting table.
 2. The paper storage apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the friction means comprises a tongue-shaped elastic member madeof elastic rubber.
 3. The paper storage apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the friction means comprises a tongue-shaped elastic member madeof elastic rubber and a projection disposed on an upper surface of thelifting table at a position corresponding to the elastic member.
 4. Thepaper storage apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the friction meansis provided at opposing sides of the lifting table, respectively.
 5. Thepaper storage apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the friction meansis provided at a plurality of positions at opposing sides of the liftingtable, respectively.
 6. The paper storage apparatus according to claim1, wherein the friction means is provided along opposing sides of thelifting table, respectively.